An occasional spiritual exercise of a homeschooling mother of 10 children and wife to a wonderful, holy husband!

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Remember back in April I said something about having animals on our land? I was thinking maybe next summer we would get a few chickens and see how things went.

Providence has seen fit to let me find out sooner how things will go. A friend had to move away on short notice, and I ended up with her chickens! There were 21 hens and a rooster when I went to get them (they were young, so they all fit into one large travel dog kennel). 5 weeks later,having lost 2 (one to the neighbors’ dogs, the other to ???) they are getting pretty big, and we have gotten up to a dozen eggs a day in the last few days.

our first egg

This is the first egg we got from our young hens. You can see the colors in some of their feathers here as well. We have Rhode Island Reds, Speckled Sussex, and one Golden Laced Wyandotte. The rooster is a Speckled.

Here you can see our handsome rooster.

Peter named him Luke Skywalker

The chicken with many names

This beautiful hen has had many names. The previous owner named her Betty. When I brought her home she escaped from the pen 3 times the first day, so I called her Henny Houdinni. For a while the kids called her The Queen because she was the biggest and oldest (1 year old) of all the rest of the chickens. Lucy named her Sally Henny Penny, and I usually call her Henny.

Here are a couple of our Speckled Sussex hens. Margaret named the one on the left Sparkles. The one on the right looks too much like the other hens to have her own name yet.

Rhode Island Red hen

This hen has no name. Neither do any of the 15 Rhode Island Reds. They all look alike. So I call them all “Chicken.”

Pretty Red

Ain’t she purty?

Right after we took this picture, the kids came in with another egg. They lay eggs all day, not just over night, apparently.

Hello, everybody. I hope the beginning of summer finds you all well and happy. I am including an extra special in this month’s newsletter to celebrate the warmer weather! If you know of anyone who might be interested, please send them this link and have them reply to this post.

Tea TriviaTea should be stored in airtight containers, away from sunlight and moisture.

Let’s Do Tea monthly specials:For July 2009, if you host a party, you receive 15% merchandise credit, and one of the following: a free tin of tea (any tea $10.95 and under), a box of any size Tea Sacs, an Empress tea strainer, or the Stripes Tea for Me set (While Supplies Last)!

MY EXTRA SPECIAL: Book a party now for July or August and receive an EXTRA free tin of tea!

There is also a Customer Special for June: Tiffany Rose and Lovers Three Artisan Teas ~Only $5 ea. Email me for more information.Summer Seasonals (available until September 30):

Note: Use only the finest white chocolate and sweet ripe fruits. The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead, covered and refrigerated. Soften it in a microwave oven or in the top pan of a double boiler or a heatproof bowl placed over (not touching) barely simmering water.

Place the white chocolate in a food processor fitted with the metal blade or in a blender. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and place over medium heat. When tiny bubbles begin to appear around the edge of the pan, remove from heat and pour the cream over the chocolate. Process until smooth. Add the lime zest or lime oil and process for a few seconds longer. Let cool to room temperature. The sauce should have the consistency of very thick cream.

Arrange the fruit on a rimmed serving plate or in a bowl. Pour the cooled sauce over the fruit and garnish with lime zest curls or fresh mint.Yield: 6 – 8 servings

Tea Party ideasHow about hosting an “Iced Tea party” for the 4th of July? Many of LDT’s teas are especially good iced. One of my favorites iced is Passion Flare Fruit Tea. The evenings are warmer now, so an outdoor after-dinner tea party would be great! Decorate your porch with tiny white (or red whit & blue) Christmas lights and invite your friends over for a tea party.

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If you have any questions regarding Let’s Do Tea, hosting a tea party or a catalog party, ordering teas without having a party, or becoming a consultant, please feel free to contact me.

Paula RutherfordIndependent Tea Consultant

If you aren’t already, but would like to be on my mailing list, please contact me by responding to this post.

Hello, everybody. I apologize for not sending out a newsletter for May. I will make it up by including an extra special in this month’s newsletter! If you know of anyone who might be interested, please send them a link to this post.

Tea TriviaIn 19th century Britain, tea was a valuable commodity and was stored in locked tea caddies for which only the woman of the household held the key.

Let’s Do Tea monthly specials:For June, 2009, if you host a party, you receive 15% merchandise credit, and one of the following: a free tin of tea (any tea $10.95 and under), a box of any size Tea Sacs, an Empress tea strainer, or the Stripes Tea for Me set!

MY EXTRA SPECIAL: Book a party now for June, July or August and receive an EXTRA free tin of tea when your party order is delivered!

There is also a Customer Special for June: Tiffany Rose and Lovers Three Artisan Teas ~Only $5ea. Email me for more information.Seasonal Teas (available until June 30):

Combine first 4 ingredients , stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover and chill 2 hours.Preheat oven to 425 degrees FCombine biscuit mix and next 3 ingredients; stir with a fork just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed 4 or 5 times. Place dough on a lightly greased baking sheet and press into a 7- x 1/4-inch round.Bake at 425 for 15 minutes or until done. Carefully remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.Beat whipping cream at medium speed of an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Add sour cream, and beat until stiff peaks form.Split biscuit round in half horizontally. Place bottom half on a serving plate.Drain fruit, reserving 2 Tbsp. liquid. Spoon 2/3 of fruit mixture on bottom round; drizzle with reserved liquid. Spoon half of whipped cream mixture over fruit. Add top biscuit round. Top with remaining fruit and whipped cream.Yield: 8 servings

Tea Party ideasSummer is upon us! How about hosting an “Iced Tea party” in your back yard? Many of LDT’s teas are especially good iced.

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If you have any questions regarding Let’s Do Tea, hosting a tea party or a catalog party, ordering teas without having a party, or becoming a consultant, please feel free to contact me by commenting on this post.

Paula RutherfordIndependent Tea Consultant

If you aren’t already, but would like to be on my mailing list, please contact me by commenting on this post and let me know. If you are on it already, but would like to be removed, let me know as well, so I don’t end up annoying anyone accidentally.

Every year flies by faster than the last. I started noticing this phenomenon when I was in college, and it is no less true now that I am married and have children. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time to do all the things I want to do, to send that thank you note as soon as someone does something thoughtful for me, to keep that little curl from baby’s first haircut in her baby book. “Baby” is now almost 10 years old and her baby book, although admittedly more complete than those of her 6 younger siblings, is nothing to brag about.

This summer (starting with the spring, really) I took lots of pictures and even downloaded most of them onto my computer, with the idea that I would post them here on my blog to share with the world, or at least with that part of the world that might be interested in the happenings at our little house on the prairie.

Here are some of the things that happened during the warmer months this year. Pictures will have to come later, as something on my computer won’t let me do anything with the pictures I have downloaded, and won’t let me download any pictures that are on my camera:

We painted the house yellow. By “we” I mean my husband. By “yellow” I mean “Fairy Lily” Colorplace paint from Walmart.

We cleaned out the back room so the kids would have a place to play. Again, by “we” I mean my husband. I went through some boxes and threw a lot away and found new homes for some things, but he has a keen, organizing mind and I stand in awe that he could go into the already full room with boxes and boxes of “stuff” and a couple of hours later come to me and say, “Come see,” and I behold a clean (vacuumed, even!) floor, walls lined with shelves and a sewing table by the window with my sewing machine set up and ready for Christmas sewing projects! Ian, you amaze me!

Annie (5) and Lucy (9) learned to ride bikes on a dirt road with no training wheels.

Margaret (8) can ride a big bike and made her First Holy Communion in May.

Ian & I took Maria (10 months old at the time) to New Jersey for the Catholic Marketing Network conference. We spent a day in New York City and a night in Boston with my sister, who is a Daughter of Saint Paul. It was a fun vacation. The rest of the kids stayed with Ian’s parents here in Colorado. They had a great time with their grandparents, and we are eternally grateful to said grandparents for their generosity.

At some point I took a big box of peaches and made pie fillings to put in the freezer for some special winter or spring party. Yum. I was going to do the same with apples with my Mother-In-Law, but the apple crops in Colorado were ruined this year. Oh well, maybe next year.

I am sure we did more, but my poor brain can’t think of anything else at the moment. I’ll post more when I remember and when I can get at those pictures!